Borderline scratchy

Just as promised, let me present another shawl, fresh off the needles.  Here's Danielle:

Oops, sorry about that!  The Puppy likes Danielle too, take your eyes off for a second and she'll install herself right on top of the lace, without any regard for its fragility. 

Let's try again.  Danielle, in all of its (block-in-progress) glory:

Right, I know pictures are rather unimpressive so far, but would you be eager for an outdoor photo shoot when the outdoor looks like this?

I didn't think so.  Wait for the weather to clear, you might say, but with Ireland experiencing the worst summer in decades, this could be quite a wait.  A pretty detail will have to do:

A quick knit, simple and lovely (free!) pattern.  About a week from start to finish, with a logical, easy to memorize chart.  Unless I'm very much mistaken (which could happen, but Ravelry notes confirm my version), one line in chart 5 is off by 1 stitch (per side)*.  Easy enough to rectify, just add one stitch near the beginning and the end of the offending row and from there it's smooth sailing. 

Yarn:  30% mohair, 20% wool, 50% acrylic, 350m/50g.  I ordered it specifically for Danielle - I couldn't imagine so leafy a shawl in colour other than green - and while I love the shade, I'm slightly disappointed by how the yarn feels against the skin.  I'd call it borderline scratchy - not quite unpleasant, but definitely not smooth and soft.  That's natural fibres for you, I'm afraid.  This particular yarn is not too bad, but I've seen (touched!) wools you could flay someone with. 

Just something to think about, before you order online :)

* I'm sorry, I forgot to write down exactly which line has the mistake.  Now I'm not 100% sure anymore and I don't want to mislead you.  You'll see it when you get there :)  

Shawls, shawls, shawls

They say that good things come to those who wait and once in a while this is exactly what happens. 

I knit a shawl for my sister's birthday back in September last year, and another one to put under her Christmas tree.  I happily posted them off to her address, together with a request to take some pictures for my blog when convenient.  It took a while (could it be that hatred of photography runs in my family?), but the pics are finally here and they are gorgeous!  You will have plenty of opportunity to see for yourself, because for once I'm going to publish a picture-heavy post :)

Without much further ado, here's shawl no. 1:

This is Krokus by Sue Berg, although to be honest, for some reason mine looks somewhat different than the original.  'Some reason' should probably be replaced by 'me not bothering to read the pattern properly' but nevermind, I'm happy enough with my version (and so is my sister!).

It was a lovely, speedy project and I was surprised by how much fun I had working on it.  The whole thing was ready in four days or so and, if my memory serves, consumed a little less than 100 g of fingering weight yarn. 

While not particularly big, it is very versatile.  You can wear it like this:

Or like this:

How about this styling?

Who says shawls have to be worn on your neck?

The other shawl was a bit more fiddly and time-consuming.  Think 'weeks' rather than 'days'.  You've already had some sneak previews (here or here), but now you can see my version of Ardrum Scarf in all of its modelled glory:

I admit, some weeks into the knit I was mightily sick of the pattern.  It's pretty monotonous and seemingly endless, especially when you're in the middle of the project.  Take a look at the detail, though.  It's 100% worth the effort!

Edging is knit at the same time as the body, which saves you from multi-hundred-stitch rounds at the end.

I used some very posh, wool/silk blend yarn.  Being the yarn plebeian that I am, I can't say I'm completely in love with it.  Efficient, yes.  This massive shawl used up just a tiny bit over one (100g) skein.  The fibre is smooth and soft, but it's also a real bitch to knit.  I had to watch my hands constantly to ensure the yarn doesn't split and in general working with it was less joy than I thought it should be. 

Admittedly, the drape in this piece is wonderful and probably worth the occasional curse when the yarn was misbehaving.

 

I worried that the needles I used (2.5 mm) were too small.  What do you think?

Regardless of how stunning it looks, turns out lace knitting is not my favourite technique.  Not with lace weight yarn, anyway.  Lace details worked into a pullover - sure, but scarves or wraps in what is essentially a thread - waaaay too boring.

Having said that, guess what I'm working on at the moment? 

After all, I have two sisters and an almost untouched skein of lace weight to use up...

More details coming soon.

Fingerless opera gloves

When I wondered whether or not to start a knitting blog, I seriously worried that I won't have enough projects to write about.  I shouldn't have.  Turns out I have an ever-shifting though never-shortening queue of FOs to present.  There are three or four designs from before the blog was born that I would like to show you, but how am I to do this when I also have a permanent backlog of at least two recent works?

Oh boy, I wish all my problems were of this caliber... :)  Anyway, here's another fresh creation:  fingerless opera gloves.

Made to order, they were practically built around the future owner's hand.  Some ripping was inevitable, but not too much and once the first glove was finished, it was a matter of simple copying to complete the pair.  A satisfying little design, with the result turning out even better than I expected.

I wanted a really snug fit, so the gloves are crocheted in the round only from fingers to wrist, higher up I worked flat, adding snap fasteners along the edges.  Very sophisticated.

You can't exactly see the opening on pictures, and this is because this time I managed to push the unpleasant duty of photographing my FO onto somebody else.  My victim helpful friend is skilled in the art of taking nice snaps, with pretty props etc., but not a yarnoholic herself so construction details that I find really clever did not catch her eye (or lens).  Since I'm not turning this design into a publishable pattern, I figure it's ok if my pics are little vague.

PATTERN:

I really liked these gloves on Etsy*, so I borrowed the stitch and improvised my own construction.  Does this make the pattern mine?  I'm not quite sure.  What do you think, guys? 

* I was going to post a link here to the specific listing, but I can't find it anymore even though I trawled through ALL crochet lace gloves on the site.   It must have been sold, or de-listed.  Instead, here's a link to the original picture reposted elsewhere.